Courtroom Rules

• Pronoun Usage: The parties and counsel are encouraged to advise the Court of their pronouns and honorifics (such as Mx., Ms., or Mr.). People appearing before this Court may provide their pronouns and honorifics in writing or orally when appearing for conferences, hearings, or trials. Attorneys are encouraged to identify their pronouns and honorifics in their signature lines when submitting documents for filing. Parties and counsel are instructed to address each other in all written documents and court proceedings by those previously identified pronouns and honorifics. Please see  Pronouns in the Courts   for more information.
• Mobile devices must be turned off before entering the courtroom.
• Please provide advance notice when you require teleconferencing, intend to utilize the courtroom's video displays, or have other presentation technology questions.
• Attorneys and parties should conduct themselves with decorum and manners. This is primarily for your own benefit: jurors, courtroom staff, and public observers consistently state that they prefer a civil and collegial relationship between opposing parties and counsel.

Case and Trial Management Templates

Trial Setting

After parties file consent to a Magistrate Judge, firm pretrial conference and trial dates will be set. After setting the trial date, Judge Kasubhai will enter a Trial Management Order that sets out the dates that all pretrial documents are due. Pretrial conferences are generally held in person in Judge Kasubhai’s courtroom.

Discovery Issues

Judge Kasubhai prefers to handle discovery disputes informally and discourages parties from filing motions to compel, which take extra time and resources to resolve. In the event the parties have a dispute they should first email a brief summary of the dispute to Judge Kasubhai’s courtroom deputy at the link above. If the dispute cannot be resolved by email correspondence, Judge Kasubhai will schedule a telephonic hearing and give an oral ruling.

Motions Practice

Oral Argument

Judge Kasubhai does not automatically schedule oral argument upon request. The parties will be contacted if, after reviewing the briefing, Judge Kasubhai believes oral argument will be helpful in resolving the motion.

Summary Judgment

Judge Kasubhai strongly encourages parties to only seek summary judgment on issues that involve no question of material fact or that raise significant dispositive legal issues, so as to avoid unnecessarily delaying the resolution of the case, and wasting client’s money and the court’s resources. Accordingly, a moving party’s argument in favor of summary judgment should be well supported by citations to the record, which should be either to the paragraph numbers of affidavits and declarations or to the page number of any deposition excerpts.  Parties are required to submit copies of all documents in an organized fashion.

Judge’s Copies of Filings

Except for those documents identified in the Trial Management Order, parties are exempt from Local Rule 5-10 with regard to the paper filing of documents. PLEASE DO NOT SEND JUDGE KASUBHAI PAPER COPIES OF YOUR FILINGS. HE WILL ACCESS YOUR FILINGS ELECTRONICALLY AND DOES NOT NEED A COURTESY COPY.

Hyperlinks

Judge Kasubhai strongly encourages counsel to hyperlink the cases they cite in their briefs.  For information on inserting hyperlinks in CM/ECF, see Section 5 of the CM/ECF User Manual.

Settlement Conferences

Requests to schedule a settlement conference with Judge Kasubhai should be directed to Judge Kasubhai's courtroom deputy at the link above.

Settlement Conference Scheduling Order Template

Opportunities for New Lawyers

Judge Kasubhai strongly encourages litigants and law firms to be mindful of opportunities for new lawyers (attorneys practicing less than 7 years) to conduct hearings before the court in tandem with more experienced attorneys, especially where new lawyers drafted or significantly contributed to motions and responses. These opportunities include oral argument as well as witness examination.

Judge Kasubhai believes it is important to provide new lawyers with substantive speaking opportunities to gain experience in court, as the benefits of such experience accrue to the new lawyer, clients, and the legal profession in general. However, Judge Kasubhai understands that, in some instances, having a new lawyer appear may not be appropriate or in the client’s best interest. Therefore, an experienced attorney may supplement a new lawyer’s arguments and questions with their own if necessary.

Expedited Case Management

If the parties consent to Magistrate Judge and agree to an expedited trial schedule, the court will set a case management conference to discuss limits on discovery and the need for dispositive motions. The court will make every effort to set a trial date within six months of the expedited case management conference.

Pro Se Parties

Parties proceeding pro se (representing yourself without a lawyer) should refer to the District of Oregon’s Handbook for Self-Represented Parties for helpful information.

Pro Hac Vice

Attorneys admitted pro hac vice and their Oregon counsel should read and be familiar with the court’s Local Rules and general litigation practices.

Externships

Judge Kasubhai is not accepting externship applications at this time.